Business

Retrospective tax law is bad, says professional

Published

5 years ago

2021/06/5

Sahan Weerasooriya

‘Section 38 on Deemed Assessed Value could infringe on tax payers’ rights’

by Sanath Nanayakkare

Speaking at a Webinar held on the 2nd June 2021.on “Recent Amendments to the Inland Revenue Act” Shamila Jayasekara Partner – Head of Tax & Regulatory said that in principle, retrospective tax law was bad as it could have negative consequences on the concluded transactions of businesses.

Sharing her concerns and views on the topic she said,” A lot of changes made to the tax code are incentives provided through the form of tax exemptions, the concessionary rate being applied to a large number of sectors, the qualifying payments allowed and expanded, the withdrawal of withholding taxes, the expansion of deductible tax expense”.

“Those were the plus factors of the tax proposals to give relief to businesses. Now, they are retrospective. Some of the agriculture tax excemptions come in from April 2019 and the others from January 2020. so we need certain clarifications and guidelines to be issued by The Inland Revenue Department fast, so we can implement them during this month. Then as practitioners, we can amend returns that have already been submitted and filed.”

“Another area I want to bring is another area is; there were certain changes that were done which were not budget proposals and which were not announcements in press statements either with retrospective effect going back to April 2018. Now in principle, I think retrospective tax law is bad, but in circumstances when certain incentives were given and published, then of course you become aware of these changes though the law may not be there. But it should not hit you as a surprise when you read the tax amendments because these have consequences to concluded transactions of businesses. I don’t think it is positive from the tax side where you suddenly find you have concluded a transaction and then you find the tax law has changed with retrospective effect. What has happened has happened but it should not happen. I understand that even in the current amendments there are gaps. If you take concessions given to SMEs, I think there is a bit of doubt as to what an SME is. I understand these changes and I know that the policymaker can change those, but those should be done prospectively. It should not be a retrospective change because tax law is a fiscal law and no one would know the thinking behind policies ,so you go on the wording of the law, therefore, any change should be prospective’

“Further, the introduction to section 38 of a deemed assessed value on the realization of investment assets; you are to consider it on the market or an assessed value or the value given by a valuer.. But if the commissioner is of the view that is not reflective of market value then he can determine an alternate value. I think that gives a lot of room for arbitary valuations and a lot of disputes. With regard to this section, there is no penal code either because the law empowers the determined value to be accepted as the assessed value. That will of course infringe on the tax payers rights,” she said.

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Business

Needs of populace hit by Cyclone Ditwah seen as waiting to be addressed

Published

9 hours ago

2026/10/8

Sahan Weerasooriya

Lionel Bopage: ‘Recovery painfully slow.’

By Hiran H. Senewiratne

The government is yet to address fully the needs of the Cyclone Ditwah affected populace though one year has elapsed. The devastation cost the country more than US $ 4.1 billion, an Australia-based Chartered Engineer of Sri Lankan origin said.

‘Cyclone Ditwah affected more than 2.2 million people in 25 districts, which is considered to be one tenth of the population. However, only 39 percent of the allocated funds have been spent to date, the speaker, a one-time General Secretary of the JVP, now living in Australia Lionel Bopage said.

He made these comments at a Rotary Club Colombo South monthly meeting held at the Kingsbury Hotel, Colombo recently.

Bopage quoted from a Loughborough University research report published in February to the effect that Sri Lanka has under invested in prevention but over invested in recovery.

Bopage added: ‘The largest single economic category affected were not buildings but the agriculture sector which provides livelihoods for the majority of affected persons. Therefore agricultural livelihoods have been hit most.

‘More than 58,000 hectares of paddy lands were flooded in the Eastern districts alone, while 46 reservoirs reached critical spill level or failed outright following the disaster.

‘A rapid education sector assessment found that 1,682 schools were affected and more than 555,000 children were unable to attend schools. Further, 622 water supply schemes had been left non-functional and apart from that 11300 homes were damaged or destroyed. But reconstruction is happening at a very slow pace.

‘Tens of thousands of households in the hill country and in the East are still living in damaged properties and on unstable slopes drawing water from schemes that have not been restored.

‘ A Post Disaster Needs Assessment put the cost of resilience at US$ 3.4 billion but restoration work is happening at a slow pace even with foreign donor assistance.’

Business

WB forecast buoys bourse but weak investor participation slows momentum

Published

9 hours ago

2026/10/8

Sahan Weerasooriya

By Hiran H. Senewiratne

The CSE yesterday kicked off on a positive note due to a World Bank forecast that Sri Lanka could achieve 4.4 percent economic growth this year but later lost momentum due to weak investor participation.

Amid those developments both indices moved upwards. The All Share Price Index went up by 132 points while S and P SL20 rose by 21.02 points.

Turnover stood at Rs 1.97 billion with three crossings. Those crossings were; Lanka IOC 2.7 million shares crossed to the tune of Rs 470 million; its shares traded at Rs 127, CCS 2.7 million shares crossed to the tune of Rs 315 million; its shares sold at Rs 118 and JKH five million shares crossed for Rs 91.5 million; its shares traded at Rs 18.30.

In the retail market companies that mainly contributed to the turnover were; Commercial Credit and Finance Rs 126 million (1.3 million shares traded), Lanka IOC Rs 98 million (775,000 shares traded), Asiri Surgical Hospitals Rs 77 million (7.6 million shares traded), Commercial Bank Rs 51.3 million (307,000 shares traded), Sampath Bank Rs 46 million (325,000 shares traded), HNB Rs 37 million (98000 shares traded) and Tokyo Cement Rs 31 million (393,000 shares traded). During the day 50 million share volumes changed hands in 14547 transactions.

It is said that the petroleum sector performed well, especially Lanka IOC, while in the banking sector counters, especially Commercial Bank and Sampath Bank performed well. In the manufacturing sector, JKH impressed.

TAL Lanka Hotels announced that it has scheduled an Extraordinary General Meeting on October 29 to obtain shareholder approval for a proposed Rs 1.87 billion rights issue. The proceeds will be utilized for the repayment of bank borrowings, part refurbishment of the Taj Samudra Hotel in Colombo, settlement of vendor liabilities, and general corporate requirements.

Yesterday the rupee was quoted at Rs 330.95/331.05 to the US dollar in the spot market, weaker from Rs 330.85/95 the previous day, while bond yields were quoted broadly steady, dealers said.

Business

Huawei continues to showcase practical AI applications at Sri Lanka AI Week 2026

Published

9 hours ago

2026/10/8

Sahan Weerasooriya

Sri Lanka AI Week 2026 continued into its second day bringing together government, industry, academia and technology partners to explore practical applications of artificial intelligence. As the AI Technology Partner for the second consecutive year, Huawei showcased 18 use cases spanning government, education, finance, industry, green energy and everyday life, demonstrating how AI can be applied to real-world needs.

Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya visited the Huawei exhibition together with officials from the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education, experiencing the Smart Classroom, AI in Education and MindGraph by Beijing Normal University demonstrations. The Smart Classroom demostration highlighted how connected technologies can bring teachers and students in different locations into a shared learning environment, while the AI in Education showcase demonstrated how AI can support teachers, enhance learning and enable more personalised education. The Prime Minister praised the efforts of the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education, Huawei and their partners to demonstrate practical applications of AI in education, noting the role of technology in supporting teachers, expanding learning opportunities, and advancing a more inclusive, equitable and future-ready education system.

Later in the day, Deputy Minister of Digital Economy Eng. Eranga Weeraratne, Deputy Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development Chathuranga Abeysinghe, Secretary to the Ministry of Digital Economy Waruna Sri Dhanapala, and Chinese Ambassador Wei Huaxiang visited the Huawei exhibition and explored the AI Hands-On Classroom AI Empowering Industry, AI in Education and Smart Classroom demonstrations. Deputy Minister Weeraratne praised Huawei’s practical approach to showcasing AI applications, noting their relevance to Sri Lanka’s digital transformation across education, industry and skills development. The engagement also extended across the wider AI ecosystem, with industry professionals, technology partners, academics and other visitors engaging with the demonstrations and expressing appreciation for Huawei’s practical approach to applying AI across different areas of society and the economy.

Daniel Wu, CEO of Huawei Sri Lanka, said that Huawei will continue bringing global experience, technology and ecosystem resources to Sri Lanka, while working side by side with local partners to build local capabilities, develop local talent and create real value for the country. “I believe that by working together, we can make AI not only more intelligent, but also more local, more inclusive, and more meaningful for everyone,” he said.